United States v. Salerno

United States v. Salerno
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 21, 1987 Decided May 26, 1987
Full case name	United States v. Salerno
Citations	481 U.S. 739 (more)
Holding
Given the Act's legitimate and compelling regulatory purpose and the procedural protections it offers, 18 U.S.C. 3142(e) is not facially invalid under the Due Process Clause.
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices William J. Brennan, Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell, Jr. · John P. Stevens Sandra Day O'Connor · Antonin Scalia
Case opinions
Majority	Rehnquist, joined by White, Blackmun, Powell, O'Connor, Scalia
Dissent	Marshall, joined by Brennan
Dissent	Stevens

United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739 (1987), was a United States Supreme Court decision. It determined that the Bail Reform Act of 1984, which permitted the federal courts to detain an arrestee prior to trial if the government could prove that the individual was potentially dangerous to other people in the community, did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, nor the Excessive Bail Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The case was brought up when Mafia member Anthony Salerno was arrested and indicted for violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act).

Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote the opinion for the majority.

Salerno is famous for expounding the "no set of circumstances" test. Challengers bringing a facial challenge to a statute are claiming the statute is 'void on its face' and should be declared unconstitutional. This is an extremely high burden, because the challenger must show that no set of circumstances exists under which the statute would be valid. The Court did however recognize the well-established overbreadth doctrine, which provides a different standard for facial challenges of laws alleged to violate the First Amendment.

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 481
• List of United States Supreme Court cases
• Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
• List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court